WINTER 2006
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VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR |
JAN AKKERMAN |
JOHN ENTWISTLE |
CRAZY HORSE |
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JOHN & YOKO / PLASTIC ONO BAND Sometime In New York City (Capitol / Apple) Two distinct musical sides of John Lennon are in abundance on the 2005 remasters of Sometime In New York City and Walls And Bridges. In some ways the proto-type of Double Fantasy, the 1972 release of Sometime In New York City found the ex-Beatle sharing the spotlight with his wife as they put into words and music a range of politically charged subjects including feminism, black activism, unrest in Northern Ireland and more. If you were uneasy with Lennon, the political activist, from either spectrum, then Sometime In New York City makes for a startling and unsettling musical experience. That said, the albums confrontational lead off track, Woman Is The Nigger Of The World, remains one of the most potent, anthemic works Lennon ever recorded while one of the definitive 70s rockers, New York City still holds up as one of the best ever NYC tribute songs. Originally released on Apple as a double Lp set (and subsequent double CD), the second Lp of the album featured avant gard tracks from Lennons 1969 Peace For Christmas event with remaining tracks culled from John & Yokos surprise appearance at a Frank Zappa Fillmore East show in June 1971. All of the studio album with several highlights from the second Lpincluding Lennon revisiting the Cavern Club on Baby Please Dont Goare included on Capitols concise (more commercial) single disc 2005 remaster including A+B side tracks of the Happy Xmas (War Is Over) single from 71. Describing her production on the reissue, Ono adds, I decided that the Fillmore performance should end here after Baby Please Dont Go, without going into the long avant-garde improvisation that followed, led by Frank and I. I wanted John to have the last voice on the album.Lennon and Ono briefly separated in late 73 and that self-proclaimed lost weekend period of Lennons life is captured for posterity on his 1974 solo studio set Walls And Bridges. Totally different, yet not quite as groundbreaking as his early 70 solo works, the 2005 Apple CD of Walls And Bridges CDtastefully remixed and remastered with redone front cover art work and bonus demo tracksfeatures an amazing cast of musical sidemen that Lennon used in the studio including Elton John, Klaus Voorman, Jim Keltner, Harry Nilsson, Nicky Hopkins, project coodinator May Pang and more. www.johnlennon.com
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THE DICK CAVETT SHOW: John And Yoko Collection (Shout! Factory) You gotta love Dick Cavett. Caught between being a bit older than most of the rock stars who graced his stage and being ostensibly ignorant of progressive rock music in general, Cavett makes a valiant effort to redeem himself with a shot at Beatles legacy material with a double DVD set called The Dick Cavett Show: John & Yoko Collection. John Lennon was always a man too far ahead of the crowd and instead of a musical connection, Cavett plays right into the Lennon lyric, all I can tell you is, its all showbiz. I do remember seeing Lennon and George Harrison do their interviews with Dick on TV back in the early 70s but to my knowledge both Beatles never ever did long in depth interviews regarding the impact of say Revolver or The Beatles white album. By in large these Cavett shows are mostly Lennon at his most sharp-tongued and caustic with Cavett nary mentioning a song classic. Only the third of the 3 shows recorded on 9/11/71, 9/24/71 and 5/12/72 features one song from John doing Woman Is The Nigger Of The World and Yoko beguiling with Were All Water. You have to sit through Cavetts crafty front man humor but just seeing and hearing Lennon performingespecially on the May 12, 1972 showand never looking better and more relaxed is almost too much to ask for. www.shoutfactory.com
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VAN
DER GRAAF GENERATOR
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JAN
AKKERMAN Aranjuez (Gott Discs) Although
hes best known for his jazz-rock playing in Focus and Brainbox,
guitarist Jan Akkerman is also a devout classical guitar enthusiast.
Akkerman admits, when I first visited England in 1966 or 67,
I heard the original music from the Elizabethan times played by Julian
Bream. It was then that I first became interested in the lute.
In 1978 Akkerman released his most illustrious classical inspired guitar
album, Aranjuez, which found him in the studio
with noted string arranger Claus Ogermana noted composer/producer
who worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Wes Montgomery. Hearing
Akkermans guitar backed by the symphonic wizardry of Ogermanperforming
masterpieces from Ravel, Rodrigo and Villa-Loboswas and still
is a musical revelation. As one critic pointed out, Akkerman created
a conjured a fusion of Bach and rock and his skillful orchestral guitar
approach struck a universal chord with the release of Aranjuez. Credit
should be given to Gott Discs over in England for reissuing this
classic complete with the original artwork and liner notes from 1978
and new sleeve notes from 2004 that bring the Akkerman story up to date.
Gott Discs main man, Mike Gott was greatly involved in bringing
one of the first major U.K. reissue labels, BGO Records, into the spotlight
and hes doing a super job with Gott Discs. Some of the other 2005
remasters on Gott Discs include reissue CDs from rock legends like Gary
Puckett & The Union Gap (a 22 track single disc set pairing
their first two 1968 Columbia albums), Adrian Belew (a 23 track
CD pairing his 1982/83 albums Lone Rhino with Twang
Bar King), Shawn Phillips (a 20 track CD combining
his 70 and 71 albums Contribution and Second
Contribution) and a double CD set from prog-rock innovators
Third Ear Band pairing their albums Alchemy (from
1969) with Elements (from 1970). All Gott Disc remasters
are well worth tracking down for their incredible significance, newly
remastered sound and up to date liner notes. www.gottdiscs.com
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JOHN
ENTWISTLE John Entwistle's Rigor Mortis Sets In (Sanctuary)
Late,
great bass ace John Alec Entwistle always had the knack to work
with great guitar players. All those great albums with The Who, with
Pete Townshend on guitar, set the stage for the arrival of John Entwistle,
solo artist and the 1971 release of his solo debut album Smash
Your Head Against The Wall, which was expeditiously followed
by 1972s Whistle Rymes. Both albums featured
Entwistle leading some classic rock lineups including an ground breaking
electric guitar performance by one time Who roadie Cy Langston on
Smash Your Head Against The Wall. The first Who member to release
a solo album, Entwistles penchant for writing unforgettable songs
continued in style on Whistle Rymes, with another amazing lineup
of players including Thunderclap Newman guitarist Jimmy McCulloch
and guitar ace Peter Frampton. Commenting on working with
Frampton on Whistle Rymes, Entwistle adds, Some
of Framptons guitar on Whistle Rymes was better then the
stuff he did on his own. He had a new guitara Gibson Les Paulon
the sessions that he hadnt played before and was really getting
off on it. Whistle Rymes remains a highpoint of the rock
world from the year 1972. For his third albumRigor Mortis
Sets InThe Ox changed direction and jumped into a late
50 / early 60s kind of vibe kicking off with Gimme
The Rock N Roll and adding in covers of Lucille
and the Johnny Cymbal classic Mr. Bass Man. Backed up by
a hot band, including Alan Ross, the fittingly titled RMSI
still smokes. All three of these 2005 Sanctuary Records CD remasters
feature new liner notes (hey guys, a bigger type size next time!) with
the kicker being a bounteous assortment of cool bonus tracks. www.johnentwistle.com
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CRAZY
HORSE Gone Dead Train: The Best Of 1971-1989 (Raven) Much
has been written about Crazy Horse, with and without Neil Young.
Young basically introduced the group lineup that initiates this 2005,
20 track, 76 minute Raven Records compilation. The year following
the bands appearance back Young on 1969s Everybody Knows
This Is Nowhere, the band recorded their now historic debut on Reprise.
Fueled by the energy of the late, great guitarist-songwriter Danny
Whitten, the core rhythm section of Ralph Molina and Billy
Talbot are primed to perfection with further musical expertise from
guitar ace Nils Lofgren and producer Jack Nitzche, whos
greatness is in evidence here. Ravens Gone Dead Train: The
Best Of 1971-1989 features fine selection of various Crazy Horse
album tracks from 71-89, early cuts with the Rockets and excellent
liner notes from Willian Ruhlmann that puts the Crazy Horse /
Neil Young connection in perspective. Back in 1985, singer-songwriter
Rosanne Cash released a great crossover country-pop album pop album
entitled Rhythm & Romance. A pair of tracks
from that mid 80s classic are featured on a 21 track 2005 Rosanne
Cash compilation from Australia-based Raven Records entitled
Blue Moons And Broken Hearts: The Anthology 1979-1996
Featuring 11 U.S. country music number ones, a Beatles cover version
of I Dont Want To Spoil The Party (1989 from Kings
Record Shop), and a 95 cover of the Doc Pomus classic I
Count The Tears, Ravens Rosanne Cash collection is a great
place to start exloring her music. Another 2005 CD on Raven pairs two
albums from 60s film star turned pop icon Richard Harris.
Although he never quite topped the grandeur of his late 60s Jimmy
Webb-composed 1968 classic MacArthur Park, the big voiced
Irishman went on to record further albums for the U.S. Dunhill label.
Two Harris albumsMy Boy (1971) and Slides
(1972)are now joined on a 2005, 28 track double CD set
on Raven. MacArthur Park was written for Harris by the great
Jimmy Webb, and likewise Webb heavily contributes to the My Boy album
as well. In addition to fine remastered sound, in-depth liner notes
and vintage 60s photos, Ravens double Harris CD adds in
four singles-only releases including his famous 1970 single Ballad
Of A Man Called Horse. Also up and out in 2005 on Raven is a 22
track retrospective from soul music icon Solomon Burke entitled
Thats Heavy Baby: Best Of The MGM Years 1971-1973.
Culled from three Burke albums, the 78 minute CD features three
non-LP tracks and is a fine reminder of Burkes immense contribution
to the 60s soul sound. www.ravenrecords.com.au
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